A conventional elevator roller guide is shown in FIG. 8. Also, see, for example, Japanese Kokai Patent No. Hei 4[1992]-313584 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In FIG. 8, a guide rail 101 is installed vertically in an elevator shaft. A roller guide 103, which guides a car 102, is engaged with the guide rail 101.
The roller guide 103 has rollers 104, 105, 106 that contact the guide rail 101 from three directions, as shown in FIG. 9. The roller 104 is held on an arm 107 so as to turn freely. The arm 107 is attached to a base (or platform) 108 so as to rock freely. A support rod 110, which is embedded in a support arm section 109 of the base 108, is inserted through the arm 107. A spring 112 is mounted between a nut 111, which is threaded on the support rod 110, and the arm 107. A viscoelastic member 113 is mounted between the arm 107 and the nut 111. The viscoelastic member 113 includes an outer tube 114 attached to the arm 107, an inner tube 115 attached to the support rod 110, and a viscoelastic material 116 that is adhered to the inner and outer tubes 114, 115. The other rollers 105, 106 have the same construction as the roller 104.
As the car 102 moves vertically, guided by the guide rail 101, the roller 104 vibrates, and this vibration is reduced by the spring 112. Even with this spring 112, however, the roller 104 continues to vibrate, so that this continued vibration will be damped by a deformation of the viscoelastic material 116 in the direction of shear.
The spring 112 is adjusted to the appropriate tension by the nut 111. Then, the car 102 is operated and tested and, if required, the rigidity of viscoelastic member 113 is adjusted.
With this type of conventional elevator roller guide, however, when the roller 104 vibrates, the arm 107 rocks. Because the viscoelastic member 113 is placed or located in the direction in which the arm 107 rocks, the viscoelastic member 113 is greatly deformed not only in the direction of shear, but also in the directions of compression and tension. The present inventors believe that a problem has been that the member 113 cannot exhibit or produce sufficient damping effects when located as in the conventional guide.
To replace the viscoelastic member 113 with another viscoelastic member of an appropriate rigidity so that its rigidity can be adjusted, the spring 112 and the adjustment means 111 must first be removed because the spring 112 is adjacent to the viscoelastic member 113. The member 113 can then be replaced, but the tension of the spring 112 must again be adjusted; this is a complicated practice.